Remington shook his head. “No, it was obvious he hadn’t put up a fight.”
Dax spoke next. “I don’t think Elandra believes in attacking head on unless she has too, but eventually she’s going to come for each of us if we don’t take her out first.”
“So you’re the one that questioned whatever Landry scum thought to move against us last night?” Remy asked.
Dax nodded. “His name was Eugene.”
“Was?” Remington asked.
“He won’t be causing us any more trouble.”
“But Elandra is going to ramp up her vendetta,” Lance added.
“Then the sooner we end this, the better,” Remington said.
“Eugene confirmed everything Corbin and Beau suspected, and he told me where Guidry’s been keeping himself. It’s not all that far from Ambrose’s place.”
“He’s out in the fucking swamp?” Remy asked.
“Yeah.”
“He grew up out there. Same as me,” Beau said. “We’ve known each other our whole lives. He’s always been a little shit, and he’s always let people with more money and more power lead him around by the nose. Nothing’s changed now.”
“Sounds right from what I learned,” Dax said. He gave a detailed explanation of what Blackjack had dug up for us about Elandra and her connection to the place.
“Shit.” Remy sighed. “I’d much rather do this on our turf.”
Dax laughed. “Your suits won’t blend in so well in the Bayou, will they?”
Remy flipped him off. “I like to look my best.”
“You like to look like exactly what you are, a fucking mob boss.”
He turned his attention back to me. “I still don’t understand how you got involved in this.”
Beau shifted, laying a hand on my thigh. “He got involved with this because I asked him to.”
Remington tensed, and I felt the air thicken. No one said a word. I don’t think anyone even breathed.
“Corbin needed some work done on his motorcycle.”
Beau and I had agreed we’d use the excuse I originally dreamed up if Remington found out I was spending time at his shop. I glanced quickly at Lancelot, but he was too busy feeding Tony snacks to let on that he knew the real truth.
“And?” Remington asked.
“I wasn’t inclined to do the work since he’d been less than amiable when he’d been in my shop before.”
Lance snorted, apparently paying attention now. “Imagine Corbin being less than amiable.”
Now it was my turn to send a rude gesture his way.
“Get to the point,” Remington demanded.
Beau faced him down confidently. He didn’t rush or look bothered by Remington’s obvious annoyance. It was sexy as fuck. If I hadn’t been so nervous about Remington’s reaction, I would’ve been hard as steel.
“I could’ve slapped on a surcharge, but what difference would that make? Corbin could pay whatever price I named, so I made a bargain with him. I asked him to work at the shop for a week. I wanted to see if he would get his hands dirty and do some manual labor.”
Remington glanced back and forth between the two of us, looking more confused than angry now. “And he did it?”
“Don’t look so fucking surprised,” I snarled. “I did it, and I learned a lot.”
Lance laughed “He’s basically a new person. It’s uncanny. Beau has a damn good effect on him.”
The smirk on Dax’s face let me know that either Lance had shared my business with him, or he’d deduced for himself that there was more going on than me just working with Beau.
“And that’s why you were at the shop late last night? Because you were working there?” Remington didn’t look like he believed that for a second.
“No,” Beau said. “He was there because he’s mine.”
Remington rose to his feet. “What the fuck, Beau? When I made you an offer—”
“No.” I stood too and took several steps toward my brother. “I want this. For the first time, I didn’t get help from anyone, take money from anyone, or follow along with something that was preplanned for me. I chose to accept Beau’s offer. Then I realized I didn’t hate Beau at all. I’m in love with him.”
“Corbin! I’m so happy for you.” That was Henri. He must’ve come back down when he heard raised voices.
Remington glanced up at his man and started to say something, but Henri held a hand up. “Think very carefully before responding.”
“Fuck. You’re against me, aren’t you?”
“No,” Henri said. “I’m here because I want to put an end to these threats. Let’s all listen to Beau.”
Beau nodded to Henri and then faced Remy again. “I love your brother, and that’s something I take very seriously because I’ve had very little love in my life. I don’t have a family like yours. The bond you have is awesome, but Corbin deserves to live his own life.”
I held my breath as I waited for Remington’s reaction. He glared at Beau for several seconds, but finally he said, “You swear not to hurt Corbin?”